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Children of War: Graduation
Children of War: Graduation Time Sure Flies... It was the middle of February when Beacon's roster of aspiring students finally reached the day for the end of the road. Having to deal with provisions of temporary housing and security by Atlas combined with Vale ingenuity the hundreds of students had reached the final semsester of Beacon. And, depending on the outcome of current events, it may end up being the last as all instructors are deployed into the field for dealing with Grimm and the new enemy that made its appearance at the Vytal Festival. Weapons were improved, Dust refined, and clothing provided for those who are about to become teams of confident and strong-willed Huntsmen and Huntresses. They all gathered before a field of frost, surrounded by each other in their field gear and weapons on their persons. The facility they had spent over a semester training was being deconstructed as it had served its purpose. All of the faculty gathered on an elevated stage, wearing clothes and robes fitting for their current climate. But, at the moment, the Headmaster had yet to show up to give the closing speech. Every one of the teachers had spoken in length about their expectations, their experience and their pride in their students. Despite never interacting with some of the other grades, even the 2nd and 3rd Year instructors made talks of how they're looking forward to the freshman to catch up to their own taught fully fledged hunters. But now, as the last of the teachers, Glynda, was speaking in what felt like padded length for Oz to show up, the students couldn't help but sneak in some murmurs; for once the blonde teacher didn't go out of her way to persecute them for it. "This is taking forever," Ruby grumbled, now a few inches taller and a bit more built than she started at the beginning of last year. Hopping up and down, she tried to peer around the much taller classmates, only for them to shoot stares at her of annoyance that got her to stop jumping. Looking over at her class and Seth's proximate person, she whispered out. "When's Headmaster Ozpin going to get here?" "Apparently," Blake intoned, her eyes looking more subtly around but being a bit more still than the others. "He got called away to some meeting with the Kingdoms' Conference." "That'd explain why we haven't seen him in the last month. Him, Ironwood and the Kingdom's military have been in talks for quite awhile," Weiss mentioned, her eyes drifting over from her team over to the nearby ARES. "What do you suppose they need him for?" "Who knows?" Yang said nonchalantly, her arms placed behind her back -one of which had a tint of bright yellow as a modified partition of Ember Celica adopted the prosthetic appendage- as she aimlessly chewed bubblegum in her mouth. "But given he's in charge of the most experience bunch of hunters in Vale, they are probably trying to dictate where they send us and who does what. After all, we're arms of the Kingdom's military during emergencies and we've been under a tight net since the Vytal Festival." "And Dust-damn, am I glad to be finally getting out of that net." Anthony grunted, running a hand through his hair. "Another day in there, and they would've had to send me to an actual asylum!" Gone were the usual black shirt and cargo oants, replaced by a little more. He wore a red light coat with a gray biker vest and brown hiking pants. A back holster, secured by a strap around his chest, held a smaller version of the Grimmsword acquired from the Minotaur. It was still comparable to the size of a person and still demanding absolute physical strength. But thanks to the grueling training and practice, he was able to use it with natural proficiency. "It was hardly that bad." Elisha drawled, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. He wore something new, yet much simpler; a brown tunic over a green long-sleeved shirt, gray pants to match fingerless leather arm gloves and a Grimm-like pelt around the waist - in similar vein to his brother. "Of all the things I've considered you to be, Anthony, a drama queen was never one of them." "Hey, you can get back to me when you've been a tin kid in Atlas, all right?" Anthony retorted, huffing. "Let me tell you, that was not nice." "Can't be worse than getting shoved in a W.F. labor camp, right?" Seth piped in, his hands behind his head. He had a more formal look; a white dress shirt with a dark red vest overtaken by a brown jacket, black gloves with steel wrist guards, and beige pants with the traditional cowboy boots. Two pistols hung from either side of his waist, both of them carrying an abnormal appearance more fitting for a rifle. "At least where you were, you're guaranteed to learn something." "You could learn something from where you were!" Anthony retorted, pausing before looking off to the side. "Uh... in some way-" "In some way-''!" Seth mocked, turning his head away and placing his hands on his hips. "Eat my ass, Redmond." Anthony tried his best not to snicker. "Eat your own ass, Browning." "I would if I could, bitch." It didn't take long for both boys to start sniggering, with Elisha joining in shortly after. Rohan rolled his eyes, though remained silent. In complete defiance of the elements, his clothes consisted of a white hoodie with black, fingerless gloves, blue jean ''shorts that ended just above the knee, and white and black sneaker boots. "Hey, no eating of ass while we're in the middle of graduation!" Weiss hissed out, her finger raised up in a motion to shush them. The white-haired heiress couldn't help but feel she was the only one taking this seriously. She had gone out of her way to be adorned in what was a silvery white shouldered dress of royal blue with matching sleeves that extended into darker blue gloves. With the icon of the Schnee Family adorned of a light teal over her bosom, the ruffles of the skirt showed crimson from the inside, giving it a nice sharp contrast while her stocking-cuffed heeled boots were black. Her hair had taken a more spiral braid with the rest of her head being crowned by red and blue jewels within a silver crown. "I swear, you guys are pigs!" "I dunno," Yang remarked with a sly grin, turning her head to give a wink towards Anthony following up with a puckered kiss. She was dressed similarly how she always did, her navel and lower back on display with the top of her cleavage exposed by a now orange shirt instead of a yellow while wearing long sleeves of a black jacket. Her belt was now adorned with nearly a dozen cartridges for her Ember Ceilica, with a large satchel wrapped around the hem of her rump, her legs wearing a tight pair of leather pants with heeled boots adorned on her feet. She even possessed a pair of orange sports shades within the top of her curly golden crown. "I think I'd be the one eating someone's ass, if nothing else." "Sis, you're so gross!" Ruby bemoaned with thin-eyed look of disgust, her lips pursing with childish fervor. Unlike the others, Ruby's outfit had undergone changes that were less meant for style and more for personal protection. Her black sleeved blouse-dress had now wore a crimson rose embroidered breastplate over her chest, with similar padding over her shoulders and down her sleeves up to arm-guards to her fingerless gloves. Her skirt even had chains woven beneath the crimson frills, -intentionally now matching hers with Weiss- and her legs down her thighs possessed padding down to the top of her shins over her knees. Her Crescent Rose remained unmodified, but an additional array of cartridges were now attached to the haft of the rifle, giving her readied access apart from her waist's additional four cartridges for different types of modified Dust ammunition. "And Seth! Don't say stuff like that in public!" "Come on, Ruby," Blake chided her short leader with a passively blank expression. Her black bowed head had little difference up front, but her clothing had taken to be a bit more made for the coming days of being a validated Huntress. A violet accented pair of sleeves outfitted her arms up to fingerless gloves, her Gambol Shroud still adorned over her back through a strap while her bosom had more black with purple shading in wind-shaped spirals. Her waist was now equipped with a kama skirt, covering her back and legs in a v-cut while exposing her black-violet stocking worn legs with her standard heeled shoes. "Don't give them encouragement. They only like the attention when you tell them off." "Ugh! But it's hard not to when you know what it means, Blake!" She wailed, much to the annoyance of some of the surrounding students. "It's not literal eating! It's when the mouth is-blagh! And they're all, ungh! It's just so-so-so-!" "Ruby, wait until post-graduation!" Weiss hissed at her now. "Eep! Sorry!" "Is Headmaster Oz going to show up anytime now?" Blake sighed with a query. "He better, otherwise I might not be able to restrain my hormones," Yang chuckled lowly, her eyes thinning as she gave a come hither pur towards Anthony. "My arm still needs to be...calibrated to yours. Right iron fist?" A cock of an eyebrow from Anthony and a small smirk, before he moved over and slipped an arm around Yang's shoulders. "Sure. Up for getting me a new nickname while you're at it?" He teased coolly. Seth let out a groan, rolling his eyes and shrugging. "Ruby, you're my girlfriend, not my wife!" He complained. "You aren't allowed to complain about how I talk to my bro. There's a reason why it's called "bro speak"." "There's a term for that." Elisha said, smirking. "It's called "incest"." He promptly received a punch to the shoulder. "OW!" "Keep talkin', Rocky." Seth taunted, lowering his offending arm back to his side. Both of his palmsrested on the handles of his new guns, albeit not grasping them. "I can actually whoop your ass now." "That is a theory untested." Seth tilted his head to the side, actually grasping the handles this time. "Wanna test it?" Elisha sputtered in disbelief. "Y-you wouldn't dare. Right before a speech, and in the midst of so many people?" Seth's grin grew wider. "Only an outright pussy would be scared of a crowd watching." An uncertain chuckle was Elisha's response, followed by a sigh and a roll of the eyes. However, he decided to humor Seth. With a small smile, he reached to grasp the hilt of his sword - not his katana, but what looked like a sizable curved sword almost comparable to Anthony's. "Well, then if you insist-" "No!" Rohan abruptly put himself in between Seth and Elisha, hands outstretched. They had been joking, of course. But clearly the Dust Devil hadn't thought so, eyes shifting between his two teammates. "Dust, no! I have seen the both of you engage each other before. I am not seeing the results again here, of all places!" "Yeah, boys!" Anthony added in half-heartedly; he knew they were clowning. "Break it up, we don't want a friendly fire incident right before the ceremony, do we?" Both of them raised her hands up and sported innocent expressions, turning away from each other. "I still have not understood why it's called "friendly fire" when it's not-" "Shut up, Ro." Seth cut Rohan off flatly, causing him to pout and look away. Weiss had been a hair away from forming a glyph to restrain both of them. The sight of their last sparring match during team training exercises was enough to leave several sizable craters. Raising a hand to palm her face, she sighed with relief when Rohan managed to step in between them, as she wasn't sure how much they were joking. "Seriously, though," Blake turned to give Seth a thin-eyed glare. "Don't joke like that when we're surrounded by students who will probably defend themselves." As if on cue, a great deal of the students near them had taken their own hands off their weapons and eased back into a waiting stance. It looked like nearly four teams worth of grades higher than them were ready to jump on them the moment they'd begin, if only to stop them from dragging themselves into the crossfire. However, as they realized it was just fooling around, some of them laughed and others sneered as they returned to erect postures. "Damn," Ruby spoke with a pouting expression. "I wanted to see them fight." "Yeah, me too," Yang jeered with a shit-eating grin. "Especially when Glynda sees you guys and flattens you like pancakes!" Just as she commented, suddenly Ozpin showed up from behind Glynda. They didn't know if he was standing there all along or if he had popped out of thin air. Regardless, Glynda finally wrapped up her prolonged speech and took a standing motion beside her fellow teachers. Ozpin finally took the stage and began to look among them with a contemplative silence. Pulling out his cane from behind, he leaned upon it and began to speak. "Today, it is both with great pride and a heavy heart that I announce your long awaited departure from Beacon. No longer will you be constrained by the watchful eyes of us instructors and diligently fulfill assignments day in and day out. There will be no more classes and there will be no more lectures. This is the final message I leave to you. "Though you may be young, and some of you even less refined than those of your older peers. However, none have shown more promise for just their own first year in this Academy when under such tumultuous times. You all are aware from the Vytal Festival that our enemy is knocking on our doors. They've torn down our homes, terrorized our loved ones and attacked us when we were supposed to take time to celebrate our prowess and skill with sport and cheer. "From this point forward, you are all Huntsmen and Huntresses. You will answer the call to protect the people from Grimm and aid the nations from both domestic and exterior threats. But you are not simply soldiers or police. The world of Remnant needs fully fledged hunters like yourselves to protect them and assist them from malicious forces hard at work to undo all the good our civilizations have built. Be ready, be vigilant, and most importantly... "...always look to your future. Now is the time to seize your destiny," He ended. Stepping back, the whole of the student body cheered with a chorus of applause and clapping. Everyone could feel excitement as much as anxious anticipation. This was it. This was the time to show the world that they were ready as ever as they could be. Whether they were ready or not, they were now Huntresses and Huntsmen. Huntsmen. Huntresses. Although it was more than enough cause for celebration, the mention of the proclaimed enemy had sobered the moods of team ARES somewhat. The evolution from student to full-fledged Hunter meant that they would be exposed to a lot more, be responsible for a lot more. More than one within ARES would be reunited with the experience of battle and even potentially outright warfare - an experience that wasn't very welcome. They would also be reunited with enemies they had grown to resent and outright despise. Even in the time that had passed, Anthony could still feel that fire within him. A glance to his teammates showed in their own way that they felt the same way. He took a particular look at Rohan, who had seemed the most solemn of the group. He slowly moved over, reaching and placing a hand on the other boy's shoulder. It earned Rohan's attention, allowing Anthony to give a soft smile. "Hey." The metal-armed Huntsman said gruffly. "This time, we'll be together." "...do you promise?" Rohan asked quietly, raising a slight brow. "With my life. On the stars." Anthony answered readily. Rohan smiled a little, giving a small, acknowledging nod. "This is our moment, boys and girls." Seth added in, although addressing his group as a whole. "We've been let loose into the wild, our claws sharpened and our senses heightened to their fullest. I'd give you some spiel about not wasting it, but-" He grinned toothily, folding his hands behind his head again. "-from where I'm standing? Y'all are looking pretty damn good in that department." "I'd better look good." Elisha muttered, placing his hands on his hips. "I am certainly not interested in being a laughingstock once I find the opportunity to return to my family." It was true. There was a daunting sensation shared among the RWBY team that things weren't going to be the same. No longer could they count on the immediate help of their adult peers to shelter them or bail them out. They had to be self reliant. No more cafeteria food, no more comfy beds, no more extra sparring in the gym. They were now legitimate hunters and they had to show initiative on their own. "Ooooh, this is so exciting!" Ruby bounced, giddily jumping over to wrap her arms behind Seth's neck and hang from his shoulders. "We're Huntresses now! I mean, I am, and you're a Huntsmen! You know what I mean, isn't this great?!" "Hell yeah!" Yang whooped with a fist raised of her new prosthetic arm. "Time to go slay some Grimm and kick bad guy ass!" "We only have a slight pressing issue on that," Blake intoned, arms crossed as she looked soberly between the others. "Where are we going to go first?" "I," Weiss began, all of her team's eyes now drawn to her. "Have that covered!" Ruby's eyes sparkled and mouth slackened in awe at this. She was always impresed by how composed and preemptive her white-haired best friend was. Blake raised a brow and Yang smiled with enthusiastic intrigue. Clearing her throat, Weiss addresesd them as the other teams began to mingle and disperse from the frost covered field; perhaps to take advantage of the lodgings that will soon be completely disassembled by Atlas workers. "Firstly, given what we know, communication with the other Kingdoms were cut off after Beacon got pulverized in the Vytal Festival Attack. We restored limited connection with Atlas but Vacuo and Mistral is currently only receiving crude conversations. Word from the faculty is that Mistral is on the verge of civil war and Haven Academy is being demanded to pick a side. This is also spurred from the increasing attacks of roving clans of bandits that operate between Vale and Mistral, often crossing over to the latter's borders. This increases Grimm attacks after raids and given the current withholding of hunters from the offensive, it's straining their resources. That may be a place where we could go help right away," Weiss concluded. "Civil War..." Rohan repeated the words with a subtle disgust. He folded his arms, his frown prominent. "Even in this situation, people are still able to find reason to fight each other." Seth snorted and rolled his eyes. However, his disposition didn't keep him from reaching behind him and ruffling Ruby's hair with a hand. "You sound as if that's something new. I bet you that sooner or later, someone's gonna take a shit in the grass and there's gonna be people fighting over that because they couldn't get any actual fertilizer!" "Nevertheless," Elisha added in. "If Mistral is the location, I know my way around a great deal of the zones outside of the kingdoms. In my more immature days and thanks to my parents, my brother and I traveled quite a bit. If need be, I can offer the safest passage to Mistral I know. Perhaps on the way there, my tribe can offer aid." "Sure they aren't gonna gut us on sight?" Anthony asked, raising a brow. "Certainly. They are not the White Fang. The only thing that would garner hostility is if you attempted to move in on turf claimed by the Hamask. As long as you're not trying to assert any authority upon claimed land, we should be ideal." "Mistral, huh?" A familiar voice sounded. It came from Mose, who was approaching with his hands in his pockets. His group as well as team JNPR were in tow. He himself sported a gray jacket with the sleeves partially rolled up, just enough to expose his gauntlets of choice. The jacket was unzipped, exposing what appeared to be a brown utility vest and an olive green shirt. He also sported black pants and hiking shoes. Kiarra wore a pale blue long-sleeved shirt, black fingerless gloves, beige pants and black boots. Her respective weapon Kimble was fitted in a holster secured to her back by a sling and a magazine-pack vest. Bonnie wore a dark blue coat that seemed a little too large for her, a more fitting white collared short underneath, a dark blue skirt of thigh-length and matching high-heel boots that reached above the knee. At first glance, she didn't appear to have a weapon on her. However, chances are that it was hidden somewhere in her coat. Lastly, Delilah wore a gray sleeveless vest/tailcoat with a black tank top underneath, a zinc gray skirt, fingerless black arm gloves and hiking boots. Gone was the oar/axe weapon she had before; in its place was a massive mace/cannon hybrid, with the blunt part looking like an inverted mushroom cap. "Convenient you've chosen that as your first." Mose remarked dryly, nodding over to Jaune and his team. "Because what we've chose kinda corresponds to that." "Oh?" Anthony was the first to respond, giving an intrigued look. "And just what kind of job have you decided to nab?" "Mistral's been reporting a spike of White Fang activity on the island of Menagerie. Adding to that, the number of riots there have been increasing." Mose explained, giving explanatory gestures with his hands. "Just like Mistral, things are gonna blow up without some sort of intervention." "Naturally, we have decided that we would be the interlopers to bring peace and tranquility." Bonnie piped in confidently, with a hand against her heart for emphasis and a smug smile. "And it is fortunate for them, because we have experience in dealing with the White Fang. Our expedition long ago proved that much!" "Bonnie." Kiarra deadpanned, wiping Bonnie's smile off her face. "That gig ended with Lily and Jaune getting captured. Delilah got the stuffing kicked out of her for information. Both of them had to get rescued." Bonnie sputtered a minute. "H-hold on! I find it a success because we managed to get away with sensitive information that played a crucial role later on! I know I was upset when it happened, but now that it's all over, I can call it a success!" "Mostly a success." Delilah muttered, running a thumb across the scar that went down her cheek. The line trailed from her cheek, down her jaw and over her left breast. "A complete success, and my face'd still be as flawless as it was before the White Fang's katana boy introduced me to his sword." "Adam Taurus." Mose corrected, raising a brow. "And I'mma beat the Taur out of him the next time I see him." Delilah smirked a little at her own pun, but stopped immediately once she saw her teammates stare without amusement at her. She blushed a little, looking between them in slight fluster. "Wh-why are y'all lookin' at me like that? C'mon, I thought that was good!" "Leave the puns to the other blonde, honey." Kiarra said flatly, causing Delilah to deflate. "Nah-Nah," Yang wagged her finger, grinning with a wink at Delilah. "You're the one full of Bull, Kiarra." "That was....was terrible," Blake intoned with a flat, blank stare. "You both should feel ashamed." "Disregarding that," Ren mentioned, ignoring the dirty glares exchanged by the blonde and raven haired members of RWBY, he looked over at the others of Mockingbird with a solemn expression. His hair had become a long mane with the pink streak prominent on the right side of his scraggly tresses. With a long flat tunic placed over the front and back of baggy bottomed lsacks, his weapons holstered on either side of his waist, the man gestured with his arms at them as he tried to keep everything leveled in priority. "If any information could be found about how the White Fang is coordinated or if they're responsible for causing uprisings in the Faunus country, it might be in our interest to collaborate our information with yours. Since the Vytal Festival Attack, we know their organization is linked to Cinder and Havigen, but we don't know if all cells are completely cooperative." "It's also possible that we may find one of the Maidens in Menagerie, possibly in hiding or someone who knows more," Pyrrha insisted, her eyes sparkling with far more confidence than the mixture of emotions she had months ago. She still wore her armor, sword and shield that she had before the semester started, but she now donned a red collared cloak of golden trim that sported a hood with a crown insignia over its top. "Remember that is one of the ulterior goals to the chaos and destruction these people are trying to instigate." "Right," Jaune nodded with affirmation to his girlfriend. He himself wore shoulder plating and a much more bulkier set of breastplate of the same color of white with gold trim on his chest and back, with a black hood adorned around his neck. His sword of his great-great grandfather's had enhanced edges, with a Dust-cartridge infused into the guard and fed through the hilt. With bronze plated gloves resting on his hips, he nodded to the others of RWBY and ARES. "We'll make sure to keep an eye out for those enemies and notify each other. Just so we know what's up with each other in case something happens." "Oh c'mon, Jaune!" Nora quipped with a cheery grin, placing her arms around Pyrrha nad Jaune's necks with teeth on display. She sported arm-guards with plated gloves of her own, her field tunic's blouse now possessing four circlets over a chained shirt, while her frilled cream skirt of pink tresses covered chain-leggings down to a pair of heeled boots. Her weapon was aloft on her back while a pair of circlet with a pair of wings was fastened around her ears around the back of her now medium length orange hair. "It's not like we're meeting an untimely demise! We survived the Vytal Festival, right? What's the worse that could happen?" "Please don't jinx us before we leave, Nora," Ren intoned with a sighing shake of his head. "What?! We haven't have any real terrible things happen yet, right?!" There was a lull in the air as the team looked over as Ruby's face contorting to one of tongue sticking out disgust while play slapping at his hand. Even Yang looked a bit soberly over at her sister when Nora's ignorant speech had brought her a memory of what happened. Blake, however, looked a bit more confidently with a smile towards the others with a nod. "We've made it this far, I don't see why we can't have a bit more optimism," Blake Belladonna spoke, raising a hand up in a beckoning fist. "From this day forth, we're Huntresses and Huntsmen. We'll show the Grimm, White Fang, Havigen and Cinder what we've become over this last semester of our time in Beacon." "I'll say amen to that," Yang fist bumped with her black-haired Faunus teammate. "Can't wait to give my arm a test drive. Right Anthony?" "Don't leave me out of the team fist bump!" Ruby insisted, placing her fist into the pile while Weiss shrugged and added her own fist into the mix. Seeing this, JNPR mutually fist bumped RWBY's fists as well, urging the other teams to join in. This little symbolic ritual wasn't much more than a simple promise. But there was a truth in it. That they'd all prevail thanks to their experience, both good and bad, that's made them stronger than they've ever had been in the past. Whether it was Menagerie or Mistral, they were going to find a way to make it back to each other and succeed in their endeavor. Even if there wasn't the urges, the sense of camraderie would've gladly convinced the other teams to put their fists in. It was funny. At the beginning of Beacon, they had barely gotten to know one another. Now they were the best of friends - maybe even family, to at least some. The completion of the mission wouldn't matter if one or a few couldn't return to them afterwards. What truly mattered was that they stuck with each other, thick and thin, to the bitter end. The Hunt Begins All four teams made it to the docks without delay or consequence. The acquisition of ships was just as easy - not that anyone was complaining about it. Anthony was quick to find himself a spot beside the ship railing, leaning against it with his elbows resting on its top. He took in a deep breath to steady his nerves. It may not have been his first mission in his combat history. But it was his first mission with a stable and very reliable team. It was his first mission serving as the leader and not the subordinate. No longer was he a bloodthirsty brat looking for a quick buck, but a guardian of Remnant looking to preserve order. Funny how things changed. A small chuckle sounded from beside him. He looked to see Elisha, observing Juniper and Mockingbird's boat as it started its take-off from the harbor. Although the sound was jovial, his own nervousness was showing. "I know we've been going our separate ways in our days as students. But this feels different somehow. I can't place my finger on it, but..." His eyes drifted down to the ocean. "It just feels like I'm separating from an integral part of myself." "They grew that much on you, huh?" Anthony mused, idly taking notice of his other teammates as they joined Elisha at the rail. Elisha closed his eyes and smiled, tilting his head. "I suppose so." Yang was standing from her own spot on the deck's railing not far away from the four ARES men. Her hands were clasped over the metal, she leaned forward and saw the opposing vessel that carried her friends. While she cast a glance over at Anthony with a winking smile she took another look near the back of the ship where the outline of the sheer cliffs bordering Vale City and the place that she had gone to for only a year. "They said it's going to take over a week to get to the nearest Mistral port city," Blake intoned, walking in between Elisha and Yang, her face showing a sense of calm that she hadn't displayed in awhile. Looking over at the Fish Faunus, she couldn't help but be pricked up with curiosity. "I don't think I know much about Mistral myself. What's it like?" "Yeah, we know your brother and you like to wear furs, so that's pretty lit!" Yang jeered with a toothy grin. "Did you live under kingdom rule or was the Hamask Clan operating out in the wilderness instead?" The bow-headed Cat-Faunus inquired with a curious glint in her yellow eyes. Elisha's eyes brightened like a decorated tree with a grin to match. "I thought you'd never ask!" "Oh, boy, here we go..." Seth muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. "Mistral's culture is based around the nature of its geography." If Elisha heard Seth, he was content to ignore it. "You can even say it's based around nature in general. If you are an artist, writer, anyone that has a chance of promoting geology and or biology? You've got it made in Mistral." His smirk became skeptical. "Rumor has it that whoever lives in Mistral is guaranteed to have filled pockets and wallets, at least in terms of the upper class." "What about those below upper class?" Rohan inquired, his arms folded across his chest. Elisha's smile faded. "Well, the majority of known lower classmen are also the most unsavory. Thieves, murderers, the generally corrupt and immoral. Thankfully, they're in their own little corner of the kingdom. The only way you'd venture there is if you were incredibly stupid, daring or desperate." His smile returned again, a semblance of pride in his disposition as he placed his hand on his hips. "My tribe operate strictly outside of the kingdoms. Although we do get limited support from surrounding villages and even parts of Mistral for our actions, we mostly sustain on game hunting and contesting bandit tribes for supplies and the like." He shook his head and huffed a little. "Stars forbid you mention anything about being under the kingdom's hand to my father, he would eat you alive!" Seth smirked. "Sounds like my kinda guy. Fuck authority, we live for ourselves, right?" "You're lucky Glynda didn't hear you say that, Seth," Yang snickered, smiling toothily as she gestured towards him with a hanging motion around her neck. "She'd totally deck you for that kind of 'unsavory misconduct'; also probably not a good idea to say that when we reach Mistral." "It's not too different from how the Faunus lived, way back then," Blake spoke aloud, a smile gracing her lips as she heard the dialogue exchange ring memories of her people's history. "Hey, don't keep us in suspense!" "Well, I'm no historian, but my parents talked about how the Faunus came to be," The Feline-Human began, turning around to lean against the railing while looking up at the sky. "It is said that long ago, when nature was under threat of the Grimm, clans of humans with strong ties to the lands broached a pact with the creatures of land, the heavens and the seas. Since that point we Faunus have always taken the attributes of beasts of all kinds to help fight back against monsters like the Grimm, and keep the lands fertile and safe. It wasn't until the humans had established territories that they found our kind repulsive, frightening and mutations. "Hence the discrimination and why you don't see many Faunus walking around in public, even in a place of progress like Vale," She reminisced, her eyes passing the clouds moving of her head as the ship continued to sail. Pushing herself upright, she turned and gave a half smile sardonically, putting her hands behind her back. "Of course, that's just what my family said. There's lots of theories as to how we began or why there's no inherent consistency genetically between offspring and parents. All I know is that we came after humans, and that makes us bizarre." "Funny how it takes one ear extra or out of place for people to turn a judgmental eye." Elisha murmured, frowning. "Okay, what in the hell?" Seth cut off Anthony before he could question Elisha further, earning a slightly annoyed eye. However, the cowboy paid no mind, his voice directed to Yang. "Listen, in case y'all need a memory check, I'' was the one who sweet-talked Willis into getting us into his Black Fang group, even if it was a temp thing. I'm pretty sure I can talk the best out of ''all of you." "Yeah, great." Anthony muttered. "Now if you could master the secret technique called "shutting up", that'd be even greater." "You wanna die, Anthony?" "Maybe later." It only occurred to Blake that Seth referred to Willis Wiles by a first name rather than something derogatory that he usually did with people he didn't know. Blinking her eyes she turned around and gave Seth a more alarmed, startled look as her ribbon ruffled atop of her head, "You sweet talked Willis Wiles...the man who...how do you know him?!" "Whoa, Blake," Yang raised her hand up, only for the Faunus to keep insistently staring at him regardless of her placations. "I only knew the man from childhood, when he was scum even the White Fang weren't known to be. Before Adam even went down the violent path, Willis took glee from manipulating and murdering humans. How is it that you, Seth, were able to convince him otherwise?" Blake asked, more incredulous than accusatory. She knew Seth was no friend of the man, but it seemed so outrageous it brought concern to her mind. Did Willis have some hold over him? Was that how Sahara turncoated so easily?